It had been the toughest of Friday nights for Downers Grove North’s football players.
They had played 48 minutes of grinding, physical football against visiting Hinsdale Central and seemingly had victory in hand, only to see it slip away in a 20-14 defeat.
Then they had watched as their coach, John Wander, transferred the Old Oaken Bucket, the spoils in this decades-old rivalry, to the winner’s side of the field.
Still, their work was not quite done.
Solemnly, they trudged toward a corner of Carstens Field. Quietly, they knelt as the Downers North marching band sang, and then played, the school’s alma mater.
As the music reached a crescendo, the players rose as one, thrusting their helmets skyward while pulling into a tight cluster.
A few started to walk away, but teammates called them back. The music was not quite done.
When it had ended, the band members, 220 strong, and the cheerleaders saluted the players by yelling several times in unison, “We love our team.” The players responded with, “We love our band.”
The whole scene seemed so quintessentially 1950s that you felt you should be watching it on black-and-white TV, and any second you expected to hear the announcement that the sock hop was starting in the gym.
But it felt pretty good during a week that featured a Texas Rangers relief pitcher tossing a chair into the stands and Bears fans obsessing over David Terrell’s etiquette. The fact it took place moments after a loss made it all the more impressive.
At Downers North, the sounds of music and mayhem somehow harmonize in a way you don’t often see at other schools. In other words, the relationship between band and team is not the jocks versus the nerds.
The blame for that goes to former North head coach Pete Ventrelli, his successor Wander and co-band directors Brayer Teague and Bill Miller. The coaches realized that the band works as hard as their players do and have hammered that point into their players’ heads.
“Our kids respect other kids working,” said Wander, who makes sure that his players show up for the alma mater after each home game. “They may not hang out together, but at the same time they respect that and are giving credit.
“It keeps a great atmosphere within the school.”
Before each season, Wander visits the band to salute its effort and its support of the football program as well as to preview the season. Miller addresses Wander’s team in a similar spirit.
The results were obvious Friday night. Besides providing pregame and halftime shows worthy of a college band, the Trojan Marching Band was a high-volume presence throughout the game.
The band members never sat down, yelling loudly during the opposing team’s offensive signals and engaged in organized cheering, either with the cheerleaders or by themselves. The players notice and appreciate such efforts.
“We respect the band,” standout lineman Cody Cielenski said. “They are here for us every game. They play their hearts out for us, and we play our hearts out, so we have something in common. We have a special bond.”
That bond includes so much cooperation that the team and the band sometimes share Carstens Field on a Thursday night so both can get their practices in.
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“Everyone realizes we all literally are on the same team,” Miller said. “We all support students doing great stuff.
“It’s an event to come to one of our games on a Friday night and see the whole buzz–the team, the band and the cheerleaders. We create a very special atmosphere on a Friday night and something we all can be proud of.”
That atmosphere carries into the school week as well, with players and band members recognizing and congratulating each other in the hallways and in class.
Junior drum major Mackenzie Martin has talked with enough musicians from other schools at band camps to realize such camaraderie is not exactly commonplace.
“I’ll tell them we have this great relationship with the team and get along and sing the alma mater, and they don’t believe me,” she said. “They’ll say, `Yeah, right.'”
But it seems perfectly natural to Martin, especially when she can see the football team working out while the band is also practicing.
“We’re working hard together and performing together,” she said. “It makes sense to have a relationship like this.
“It’s a special thing to me, and I cherish every minute of it. But it’s also all I know.”
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